Posts by JeffT

133

Election Post-Mortem

by Simon in

i'm sure many people, republicans included, are shocked at the results of the 2016 presidential election.

really, wtf!.

the polls were wrong and although it's tempting to blame voter suppression and fbi interference, that would just avoid looking at the real issues for the loss.

JeffT

One thing that's strange is how many issues seem to have a correlation even though they shouldn't ...

Good points Simon. Try saying that you think that BOTH the right to marry whomever you want AND the right to own a gun are protected by the Constitution. I keep running into people who seem to think holding both of those ideas is wrong, or impossible. Or that believing one implies agreement with some extreme position. For example saying that I believe one has a general right to own a gun doesn't mean I'm opposed to background checks.

We've created this horrid all or nothing binary division that makes discussion and compromise a thing of the past. The politicians on both sides won't settle for anything less than all of everything they want. Increasingly, the result is nobody gets anything.

8

Can Trump appoint his sons to his Cabinet?

by blondie in

jw
friends

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/donald-trump-cabinet_us_5824c2b2e4b05cf6a6435663.

JeffT

Keep in mind, that law is a reaction to JFK's appointment of his brother as AG in 1961. I was very young, but I can remember the controversy about it.

133

Election Post-Mortem

by Simon in

i'm sure many people, republicans included, are shocked at the results of the 2016 presidential election.

really, wtf!.

the polls were wrong and although it's tempting to blame voter suppression and fbi interference, that would just avoid looking at the real issues for the loss.

JeffT

I mean, why should a little pussy grabbing get in the way of becoming President right?

That was asked and answered during Bill Clinton's administration.
(Sorry, I couldn't resist. I have a longer response to this thread I might write later, right now I have to go to work.)

33

Pyramid Schemes

by schnell in

several years ago, i was introduced to a "wonderful" company called fortune hi tech marketing by a brother and his wife.

they had been introduced by a former sheriff who claims he had researched the company and found no leins or judgments, and that former sheriff had been brought in by a pastor.

you can read what happened with fhtm on wikipedia if you so desire.. this whole new idea of multilevel marketing had my brain reeling, though, and soon enough, i actually signed up with none other than prepaid legal.

JeffT

Cyberjesus, some questions about the MLM you're in

1) What is the percentage breakdown of inside to outside sales? Meaning how much of the company total sales are derived from the marketing team.

2) How much of total revenue is generated by conventions, sales meetings, seminars, etc?

3) Percentage of sales is samples and marketing materials?

17

HLC and privacy rights

by StarTrekAngel in

some time ago i used to work at a hospital.

when my family members would receive treatment at this place, often times they would ask me if i could look up information for them regarding their health.

i always had to tell them that privacy laws did not allow me to bypass the hospital's administration.

JeffT

I work in a 28 day residential recovery center. We are not allowed to give out any information about a patient, unless they have authorized us, in writing, to give information to that individual. Violating that rule leads to instantaneous dismissal. I'm not sure if that's HIPPA, Washington State law, or company policy; I'm not going to do it.

31

1000 Years is Like 1 Day?

by Sorry in

anyone else hear about this.

as all j-dubs know, whenever someone complains about how long the "new system" is taking too arrive, they use the excuse that jehovah works on his own time.

quite a few times during the public talks, i've heard speakers say the phrase "1000 years to us is only one day to jehovah" (my parents never stop talking about this).

JeffT

So if one day = 1000 years, then the 2,520 days from Daniel = 2,520,000 years, Making Armageddon due around 2,519,393 CE.

Edited to add, I'm off by a year because I forgot the no zero year thing.

39

Why Is it the Girls who Hang in There?

by snugglebunny in

jw
friends

having seen many, many people leave the org over the years, i have to say that, when it comes to married couples, it's almost always the man who makes the first move to leave.

conversely, when it comes to being converted into the witnesses, more often than not it's the wife who joins up first.

although that wasn't the case with my own parents, my father became converted and my mother followed very reluctantly..

JeffT

My wife was mentally out of the JW's before I was, she had more religious (nonjw) background than I did and knew what they were teaching wasn't in the Bible. She'd joined due to family influence. When that disappeared she was done with it.

We joined another church when we left, she ended up working there for something close to twenty years (teaching preschool), but ended up losing the job because she wouldn't knuckle under to the men running the place.

55

Let's Be Honest - You or One of Your Ancestors Was an Idiot

by Simon in

why were we ever a jw?

were we mad?

we must have been .... well, my excuse is that i knew nothing else.

JeffT

More evidence of how powerful the WT's fear and guilt techniques can be.
Spouses can't even be honest with each other about their own doubts.

The story gets better, I've told this part before, I'll probably do it again. By the spring of 1988 I'd made my decision, I didn't want to be a JW. The final straw was a talk at the circuit assembly about the evils of education. I'd already been back to school to improve my life, and I didn't want my children to be incapable of anything more demanding than menial work. So I decided to start doing some research so I'd really have my ducks in a row, this led to a copy of CofC stashed under my side of the bed.

One Sunday morning, after both of us said something like "I'm not feeling well, I think I'll stay home," I'm sitting at the table drinking coffee and reading the paper. I look up and see my wife coming out of the bedroom with CofC in her hand. I have just enough time to think "this is where it hits the fan" when she grins and says "this is MY copy." She'd found mine and realized we were both reading it.

At that point we were well on a way out, we went to the DC that summer with that idea of critically examining everything said. As a result, my wife wrote down the phone of number displayed by one of the protesters out front. Turns out he runs a support group of xJW's, which proved to be very helpful.

55

Let's Be Honest - You or One of Your Ancestors Was an Idiot

by Simon in

why were we ever a jw?

were we mad?

we must have been .... well, my excuse is that i knew nothing else.

JeffT

I became a witness in 1973, just as I was graduating from college. I was fighting depression and a mental breakdown, and the talk of the world ending fit my view of current events (Nixon/watergate, the war in Vietnam ending badly, cold war etc). I was sucked in by a friend who had a JW mother. A year later I got married to a young woman who had been pulled in by family members.

We both started slacking off by the late seventies, but neither of us knew about the other's doubts. We moved across the state in 1983 after I spent a year in school and found a better job (against the elders' advice). We gradually stopped almost all meeting attendance and field service, stopped everything in 1988 and DA'd in early 1989.

Am I an idiot? I certainly was in 1973, yet I managed to pull my head together and get out before much of the information now available existed. Looking back, I have to say that the JW's did a VERY good job of love-bombing and hiding the dark side of their religion. By the time I understood how JC's and disfellowshipping worked, I was too far in to see my way out. I'm disinclined to disparage those that fall for it.

42

November 1, 2016 TO ALL BODIES OF ELDERS Re: Using and Maintaining Kingdom Halls

by wifibandit in

november 1, 2016 to all bodies of elders re: using and maintaining kingdom halls.

table of contents.

ownership .........................................................................................pars.

JeffT

My first impression is that they have a big problem with cleaning and maintenance where more than one congregation is using a hall. It looks like everybody is expecting the other people to take care of it. What a wonderful Christian attitude.